OUR HISTORY

Founded in 1914, the Decorators Club’s mission has been consistent for over 100 years: to encourage top standards of design education; to foster the highest level of ethical conduct and professional practice for the designer, client, and the trade; and to maintain a spirit of friendship and support among those who must work competitively.

From its inception, the Decorators Club has been a pacesetter in the industry. In the 1920s it participated in union negotiations for upholsterers and painters, introduced public decorating clinics and exhibited the first model rooms at Grand Central Galleries. The 1930s saw the club develop the first standardized interior design contracts as well as play a key role in the founding of the country's first national interior design organization. During World War II members designed drydocks and USO clubhouses. Continuing the momentum, it mounted an American-Italian design exchange in Florence in the 1970s and was the first design group invited to visit the People’s Republic of China before it was opened to the West. Past members include decorators Rose Cumming, Elisabeth Draper, and Betty Sherrill; textile pioneer Dorothy Liebes; and historic preservationist Nancy McClelland.